BMC Plant Biology (2015) 15 (267) - Biochar-amended potting medium ...

Wen-kun Huang, Hong-li Ji, Godelieve Gheysen, Jane Debode and Tina Kyndt (2015)
Biochar-amended potting medium reduces the susceptibility of rice to root-knot nematode infections
BMC Plant Biology 15 (267)
Abstract:
Background
Biochar is a solid coproduct of biomass pyrolysis, and soil amended with biochar has been shown to enhance the productivity of various crops and induce systemic plant resistance to fungal pathogens. The aim of this study was to explore the ability of wood biochar to induce resistance to the root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne graminicola in rice (Oryza sativa cv. Nipponbare) and examine its histochemical and molecular impact on plant defense mechanisms.
Results
A 1.2 % concentration of biochar added to the potting medium of rice was found to be the most effective at reducing nematode development in rice roots, whereas direct toxic effects of biochar exudates on nematode viability, infectivity or development were not observed. The increased plant resistance was associated with biochar-primed H₂O₂ accumulation as well as with the transcriptional enhancement of genes involved in the ethylene (ET) signaling pathway. The increased susceptibility of the Ein2b-RNAi line, which is deficient in ET signaling, further confirmed that biochar-induced priming acts at least partly through ET signaling.
Conclusion
These results suggest that biochar amendments protect rice plants challenged by nematodes. This priming effect partially depends on the ET signaling pathway and enhanced H₂O₂ accumulation.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Godelieve Gheysen, Jane Debode

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Meloidogyne graminicola	Rice (Oryza)